Honors Self-Designed Studies

What is Honors Self-Designed Studies?

Honors Self-Designed Studies permit Honors students with specific professional goals
or interdisciplinary interests to design unique majors or minors when WKU's programs
of study do not fit precisely a student's needs. Recent Honors Self-Designed Studies
majors include "International Environment and Development" and "The Scientific Study
of Human Nature"; a recent Honors Self-Designed Studies minor is "Computer Gaming
and Special Effects."

What are the Requirements for Honors Self-Designed Studies Major/Minor?

The Honors Self-Designed Studies requires a minimum of 48 semester hours when the
student has no second major or minor, 36 hours when used as a first major with a second
major or minor, or 30 hours when used as a second major. The Honors Self-Designed
Studies requires a minimum of 24 semester hours.

No more than six hours of courses used to satisfy general education requirements may
be used in the Honors Self-Designed Studies major or minor.

At least one-half of the hours in any Honors Self-Designed Studies major or minor
must be upper-division (numbered 300 or above).

At least 24 hours of the 48-hour major, 18 hours of the 36-hour major, 15 hours of
the 30-hour major, or 12 hours of the minor must be from one discipline.

Students with an Honors Self-Designed Studies major or minor must complete a Capstone
Experience/Thesis Project (CE/T). The CE/T must be completed as part of the 48-hour
or 36-hour major. A student with a 30-hour Honors Self-Designed Studies major (a second
major) or an Honors Self-Designed Studies minor may complete the CE/T in either the
first major or in the Honors Self-Designed Studies major or minor.

It is a WKU policy that any two separate academic degree programs totaling together
a minimum of 54 credit hours must have at least 48 of non-duplicated credit.

The hours earned as part of your CE/T project count towards the completion of that
major.

Any student completing an Honors Self-Designed Studies major or minor is expected
to complete all other requirements of the Honors College.

How do I make a decision about creating an Honors Self-Designed Studies Major/Minor?

There are many advantages and risks inherent to creating an Honors Self-Designed Studies
major or minor, and thus it is a decision that should not be taken lightly. One advantage,
of course, is that you can uniquely tailor your collegiate education in ways students
in traditional disciplines cannot, which may give you increased personal satisfaction
and professional focus.

However, you must be aware of serious potential risks associated with creating an
Honors Self-Designed Studies in Honors. For over 100 years, scholars and academic
professionals at WKU have carefully developed hundreds of majors and minors to meet
the educational needs of college students and the demands of the evolving workforce.
Before deciding to create an Honors Self-Designed Studies major or minor, you should
thoroughly evaluate if WKU has an established major or minor that best meets your
educational and career goals. By creating an Honors Self-Designed Studies major or
minor, you run the risk of: A) designing a major/minor that fits the above requirements
but does not in substance actually meet your personal or career goals, B) creating
a major/minor that is so narrow that your personal and professional life quickly grow
in a different direction than your education, and C) future employers preferring a
traditional major/minor.

Thus, choosing to create an Honors Self-Designed Studies major or minor is a highly
personalized decision requiring you to carefully consider what educational options
currently exist at WKU and what your long-term professional and personal goals are.
You cannot make this decision completely by yourself: it is essential that you receive
multiple layers of advising before making your decision.

What advising is needed when deciding to create an Honors Self-Designed Studies major
or minor?

Consider what academic disciplines you will draw from to create your Honors Self-Designed
Studies program; you should meet with an advisor and/or professor from each of these
areas to discuss your academic and professional goals. First, discuss if a major/minor
in their discipline would satisfy these goals. For example, if you are considering
developing a major on "The Scientific Study of Human Nature," could you reach your
same academic and professional goals with a traditional Biology major and Psychology
minor?

If you decide to move forward with the Honors Self-Designed Studies, then you should
discuss with each of these advisors which classes from their discipline will give
you the academic content, skills, and experience necessary to satisfy your future
goals. This list of potential courses gathered from each discipline will help you
create your final Honors Self-Designed Studies degree plan outlined in the requirements
section above. It is extremely important that you discuss with the advisor in each
discipline the schedule that various courses will be offered in the future so you
can ensure that the courses you need will be offered in a pattern that you can actually
take. For example, if you are a sophomore and you must have an upper-division History
course as part of your Honors Self-Designed Studies program, then you need to know
when in the next three years this course will be offered so you can plan to take it
when it is offered. Many upper-division courses are offered only once every couple
semesters or even years, so if you miss the course, you may not be able to complete
your program requirements in time.

Next, you need to meet with the Honors College's academic advisor to discuss how
Honors Self-Designed Studies major/minor fits with your Honors College curriculum,
including the required CE/T. The conversations with each of these advisors, in addition
to helping you decide if you should pursue the Honors Self-Designed Studies major
or minor, will provide you with the necessary information to complete the proposal
form and ultimately gain approval for your Honors Self-Designed Studies major/minor.

How do I get my Honors Self-Designed Studies major or minor approved?

After meeting with each of the advisors/faculty detailed above, you may begin creating
the necessary documents to seek approval for your Honors Self-Designed Studies major
or minor. You will need to submit to the Honors College an Honors Self-Designed Studies
Proposal, which includes:

A completed proposal form, available on the Honors College websiteA statement of at
least 250 words describing why your personal and academic goals can best be achieved
by the proposed Honors Self-Designed Studies major/minor and not by a traditional
academic disciplineA program of study detailing each course that will part of your
Honors Self-Designed Studies program and the semester in which you plan to take each
courseA letter of support from a faculty member in each academic discipline that will
compose your Honors Self-Designed Studies major or minor

What happens once I submit my proposal?

The Honors Development Board (HDB) will carefully evaluate your proposed Honors Self-Designed
Studies major/minor. The HDB is a committee composed of faculty representatives from
each of WKU's colleges, Honors College student representatives, and Honors staff.
If the HDB approves your program of study, you will be notified via letter at your
local address, and then you will need to meet with the Honors College advisor to complete
a Degree Program Change form for approval by the Registrar's Office

Please see Area Study Major/Minor Proposal form on the Honors College homepage